Senate President Vicente Sotto lll and nine other senators posted perfect attendance and were always on time during plenary sessions In the regular session of the 18th Congress, from July 27, 2020 to June 3, 2021.
Reacting to his perfect attendance, Sotto stressed he is accountable to those who trusted him with his position.
“Therefore, it’s incumbent upon me to work diligently come hell or high water,” said Sotto who has been known for his perfect attendance since becoming a senator.
Apart from Sotto, the other senators who never skipped the 69 plenary sessions are Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, senators Panfilo Lacson, Joel Villanueva, Bong Go, Lito Lapid, Manny Pacquiao, Francis Tolentino, Nancy Binay, and Cynthia Villar. All of them responded to the Senate roll call.
Senator Leila de Lima was absent for all 69 sessions as she has been jailed at Camp Crame in Quezon City over drug charges since 2017
While nine other senators attended all 69 sessions, there were instances when they were not able to respond to the roll call.
Senate records showed Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon responded to the 68 roll calls. He was on an official mission once but later attended the session after the roll call.
Senator Imee Marcos also responded to the roll call 68 times and appeared online after the roll call once.
Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. were also on time for 67 sessions and appeared online after the roll call twice.
Both Senator Risa Hontiveros and Grace Poe responded to 66 roll calls and arrived or appeared online after the roll call three times.
Senator Pia Cayetano replied to the roll call 64 times and arrived or appeared online four times. She was on an official mission once but arrived to participate in the session after the roll call.
Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III responded to 58 roll calls and arrived or appeared online after the roll call 11 times.
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa attended 65 sessions and was able to respond to the roll call for all of them. He was on sick leave four times. He tested positive for COVID-19 in November 2020.
Both Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and Senator Francis Pangilinan had two absences.
Recto was on time for 65 sessions and arrived online after the roll call twice. Pangilinan responded to 63 roll calls and appeared online after the roll call for four instances.
Senator Richard Gordon and responded to 64 roll calls and arrived online after the roll call thrice. He was on an official mission once but later on, attended the session.
Gordon was not able to attend one session due to another official mission.